The US forces struck three Iranian crude oil tankers on Saturday after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched ballistic missiles at two US Navy warships that had been patrolling regional waters, the US Central Command mentioned.
In a put up on X, the US Central Command mentioned that the plane provider and guided-missile destroyer efficiently averted “a number of unprovoked Iranian assaults”.
After Iran’s tried assaults, US forces destroyed two IRGC crude oil tankets referred to as M/T Downy and M/T Stark 1 off the coast of Kharg Island and close to Jask. One other tanker that was not loaded was additionally disabled within the Gulf of Oman.
No US personnel had been harmed in the course of the assaults, Central Command mentioned.
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) September 5, 2026
The three tankers had been part of a multibillion-dollar shadow community that funds the IRGC and its proxies.
Admiral Brad Cooper, the Central Command commander, mentioned that the US military won’t hesitate to defend itself and if vital, it could destroy Iran’s “uncovered” oil fleet.
“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: When you shoot at two of our ships, we are going to impose a fair greater financial value -taking out three of yours,” mentioned Cooper.
“We won’t hesitate to defend American forces, and if vital, destroy Iran’s restricted and uncovered oil fleet”, he added.
Earlier as we speak, Iran accused the US of attacking an Iranian tanker close to Kharg Island within the Persian Gulf, the semi-official Iranian information company Tasnim reported.
Tasnim quoted native sources as saying there have been no casualties and the tanker’s crew was being evacuated.
US President Donald Trump mentioned on August 31 in a one-line social media put up accompanied by an AI-generated video that Kharg Island was being “blown to smithereens”.
Iran is the third-largest producer within the Group of the Petroleum Exporting Nations (OPEC) and closely depends on Kharg Island, which served because the transit level for 90 per cent of its crude oil exports earlier than the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict.
(With inputs from companies)
